Report: Aretha Franklin ‘Gravely Ill’ in Detroit Hospital

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin is reportedly hospitalized and gravely ill.

According to a report from Showbiz 411, the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin is “gravely ill in Detroit. The family is asking for prayers and privacy.”

Franklin, 76, struggled with weight, alcohol and she was a heavy smoker. She gained and lost weight, quit smoking and in 2011, Franklin canceled a concert tour to have a surgery that was rumored to have been to remove cancerous tumors. She never confirmed the diagnosis but a year later, in 2011, she had a comeback concert but the comeback didn’t last as over the next few years, she canceled several big dates to deal with undisclosed medical condition.

She told the Associated Press, in a story published in USA Today, she had a “miraculous” recovery. In 2013, she was back on the stage but again, in 2017, she canceled shows. At one of her last gigs, a show in Detroit at an outdoor venue, she said, to the audience, it was reported, to “keep me in your prayers.”

Franklin’s last private performance was in the fall of 2017 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and her last public concert was held in Philadelphia last summer.

Showbiz 411 says, “Aretha is surrounded by family and people close to her.”

The 76-year-old Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, is said to be “gravely ill” in a Detroit hospital surrounded by family.

The 76-year-old Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, is said to be “gravely ill” in a Detroit hospital surrounded by family.